Montclair Art Museum Offers Live Performances and Extended Hours during Free First Thursday Night

MONTCLAIR, N.J. - Feb. 26, 2016 - PRLog -- MONTCLAIR, NJ, February 26, 2016—Free First Thursday Nights invite the Montclair Art Museum’s (MAM’s) entire community to enjoy a night out at the Museum the first Thursday of the month (October–June) from 5 to 9 p.m. The programming includes a dynamic mix of free admission, a full-service bar, live performances, and a variety of activities. Free First Thursday Nights are made possible by TD Bank.

Offerings change on a monthly basis, providing something new to see and do at every First Thursday Night. Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early with a live acoustic Irish music trio featuring L. E. McCullough (wind instruments), Amy Beshara (fiddle), and Max Carmichael (strings) performing in MAM’s galleries. March’s entertainment will also include live performances of Abbot and Costello’s Who’s on First? with Joe Iovino and Greg Cancro at 7 and 8 p.m. The comedy routine originated by comedy duo Bud Abbot and Lou Costello is one of the best known of all time.

Also featured will be artist Juana Rodriguez’s Once Upon A Dream sculpture and interactive painting project based on the idea of sharing dreams. Participants will create their own miniature dream paintings, drawings, or writings and attach them to the giant dream catcher sculpture, culminating in a group dream collection. This artist project is presented in collaboration with the MFA Studio Art Program at Montclair State University.

March’s Free First Thursday Night is the first to feature American Visions: 1870–1940, Works from the Bank of American Collection, a sweeping survey of turn of the century American art featuring over 70 artists, including Childe Hassam, Thomas Moran, and George Inness. Docent-led tours of the exhibition will be offered at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 p.m. Also new on view throughout MAM and across the street at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services is the Scholastic Art Awards: Gold Key 2016 Exhibition, which highlights regional teen artists and their artwork in various mediums.

MAM’s Yard School of Art Draw Along Workshop is featured at every month’s Free First Thursday Night. Visitors are invited to create their own artwork during the workshop, which offers a free session with a clothed model and guided art instruction.

Free First Thursday Night refreshments also include a full-service bar and food trucks. The Art Bar at MAM is now in partnership with Upstairs bar and restaurant and features signature cocktails, wine, and NJ Beer Co. beer at special Free First Thursday Night prices. Museum members receive a discount on all drinks at the bar. The featured food truck in March will be Empanada Guy.

Free First Thursday Nights run October through June. For an up-to-date schedule of upcoming Free First Thursday Nights, visit montclairartmuseum.org/free-first-thurs-nights (https://www.montclairartmuseum.org/free-first-thurs-night...). Highlights include the opening of the third and final phase of the Rand Gallery of Native American Art reinstallation, artist project with Kasia Skorynkiewicz, and Montclair Film Festival lineup announcement in April; Vance Wall Art Education Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Artist Talk with Noah Klersfeld, and Studio Montclair Draw Along Workshop in May; and Moving Architects contemporary dance performance and the MAM Art Truck in June.